Targets constituents across 12 states ahead of vote this week

WASHINGTON, DC – The League of Conservation Voters launched a series of web ads today encouraging 18 Republican and Democratic members of Congress across 12 states to vote against HR 1459, the so-called ‘Preventing New Parks Bill.’ The Facebook and Google ads will start running today, ahead of the expected vote on the bill Wednesday in the House.  

“This bill would break the tool that Presidents from both parties have used for more than a century to protect iconic places like the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty. It’s a continuation of the same extreme views that led to last year’s government shutdown and is wildly out of step with the American people,” said Alex Taurel, Deputy Legislative Director at LCV.

The ads are running across 12 states, targeting the constituents of Reps. David  Valadao (CA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Dave Joyce (OH), Rodney Davis (IL), Lou Barletta (PA), Dave Reichert (WA), Erik Paulsen (MN), Charlie Dent (PA), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA), William Enyart (IL), Mike McIntyre (NC), Al Green (TX), Filemon Vela (TX), Candace Miller (MI), Mark Sanford (SC), Michael Turner (OH) and Jeff Fortenberry (NE). The ads read, “Help us protect our public lands! Tell Rep. XX to vote against the Preventing New Parks Bill.” 

A vote for H.R. 1459 amounts to a vote in favor of preventing new parks from being created. The legislation would gut a President’s main park-creation authority, the Antiquities Act, which Republican and Democratic Presidents alike have used to protect iconic places like the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and Arches National Park. 

The vote on the bill this week comes at a time when, apart from a single wilderness bill that became law earlier this month, Congress had not protected a single new acre of public land since 2009, the longest gap since World War II. With Congress refusing to advance dozens of bipartisan, locally-supported bills to create new national parks and other conservation areas, it’s more important than ever that Congress preserves the President’s authority under the Antiquities Act to protect public lands. 

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